


A Year in a Day - Expanded Timelines

by Writers_Muse



Series: A Year in a Day Collection [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A Year in a Day Collection, Akumatized Main Character(s), Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Chapter 14, Character Death, Death, Expanded Timeline, F/M, Marichat, Violence, akuma!marinette, chapter expansion, sin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 08:40:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17721869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writers_Muse/pseuds/Writers_Muse
Summary: Marinette is upset after Adrien rejects her, but not as much as either of them thought she would be.  Chat Noir seeks to comfort her, and then things take a (maybe not so) surprising turn.





	A Year in a Day - Expanded Timelines

**Author's Note:**

> This is an expansion of the timeline from Chapter 14, including the addition of day 37. We get to see the day before Marinette wakes up next to a naked Chat Noir/Adrien, and how things led up to that point, as well as how Marinette gets akumatized. I included the parts from the original chapter, to keep the continuation. Feel free to skip over anything you already read and don't want to read again.

**Day 37** :

The sun wasn’t even up yet, and Marinette was already awake.  Her mind raced, debating whether or not she wanted to go through with confessing to Adrien, whether it would ruin the friendship they had built over the years, whether it would be a huge mistake.  She scanned the ceiling in the dark of the room, eyes focusing on nothing in particular, roving restlessly over the shadows as though searching for something that would give her the answers. When the sun’s first rays finally began to peek over the horizon, she stiffly sat up, coming to rest on her mattress with her legs hanging over the side, arms locked and fingers curled over the edge.

Whereas her gaze had been directed at the ceiling before, now it was focused on the floor, estimating the distance from the bed if she were to drop off the edge.  In a fluid movement, if somewhat clumsy from her tiredness, she allowed herself to slip over the side and land in a crouch below. As she raised herself up in a standing position, Marinette felt a sharp pain in her head, and grasped it reflexively, wincing at the sensation.  Her whole body felt sore, especially her head, her neck, her back. Hoping to alleviate some of the discomfort (and finally receive an answer from the universe about her predicament), she lifted the trapdoor in her floor and headed toward the shower.

When she made it to the school steps, Marinette’s mood (and indecisiveness) wasn’t much better.  Alya waved at her enthusiastically from the top, waiting as the noirette slowly made her way up.

“Damn, girl, you look like shit,” she offered candidly.

Marinette gave her a half-hearted glare.

“Gee.  Thanks.”

Alya laughed at the lack of sincerity in her tone.

“I didn’t sleep too well last night, I think.  Woke up feeling stiff and frustrated.”

Her best friend gave her a compassionate look.  “Having second thoughts about talking to Adrien?”

Marinette appeared to think for a moment.  “I don’t know. I’m not so sure it’s a good idea anymore.”

The redhead in front of her slung a sympathetic arm around her friend’s shoulder.  “Come on, we’ll fix you up in the restroom.”

After some intense hair brushing and face scrubbing, and a quick makeup job, Marinette was surprised to admit that she did feel somewhat better- less like an escapee from an insane asylum.  She popped some ibuprofen, which helped with her malaise, and when she sauntered into class a quarter of an hour later, there were only remnants of the bad mood that had been plaguing her since the early hours of the morning.

In the end, she decided she should talk to Adrien, but that she wouldn’t get her hopes up too high, and if he rejected her (as she suspected he would), then she would accept it gracefully and finally be able to move on.  The thought nigged at her in the back of her mind that she wasn’t so sure _how_ she felt about the blond boy of her dreams anymore, as she found herself more and more distracted as the morning went on with thoughts of her partner instead.

Whenever Adrien turned his head, she was reminded of the way the sun played off Chat’s hair.  When Adrien laughed, she was distracted by memories of Chat’s deep, carefree chuckle.

And the flashes were not unpleasant ones.  There was a warmth tingling in her stomach whenever she thought of her counterpart, such as she had never experienced before, and couldn’t explain.

Before she knew what she was doing, however, she suddenly noticed Adrien was waving at her, and she came to the realization that she had been unintentionally staring.  She shook herself out of her trance, and he laughed again.

 _Chat_ , she thought fondly.

“Mari?”  The blond in front of her was talking.  “Is everything all right?”

“Yea, I’m good, I just- I’m a bit out of it today.”

Adrien nodded in understanding.  Marinette tried to work up the nerve to say the words.

“Actually, could we talk?  You want to eat lunch together, just... you and me?”

“Yea, of course.”

They watched each other for a moment, Marinette shifting back and forth on her feet nervously.

“Come on,” he finally offered.  “I know just the place.”

* * *

Adrien was having an odd day.  First, he woke up unusually late, tired beyond description and aching unexplainably.  He had no appetite for breakfast, finding that the thought of eating anything right then made him want to vomit.

When he reached school, he found himself invariably distracted by a certain black-haired beauty behind him- something he didn’t understand.  Every time she sighed or shifted, his ears perked up, and he had to fight the urge to turn around and look at her. After a while, the desire was so overwhelming, he found himself looking off to the side just to catch a glimpse of her in his peripheral vision.

Trying to pay attention to the lessons was pointless.

Whenever Marinette passed him by, he caught a whiff of her scent- sweet, like vanilla and strawberries, but floral, too.  Adrien wondered whether he could get away with innocuously breathing her in the next time she gave him a hug.

But it was driving him somewhat insane, this sudden attentiveness to his classmate.  He knew he didn’t have feelings for her, at least, not in any romantic way. He was in love with Ladybug, unrequited or not, and he wasn’t the type of person who divided his heart between people.  For him, it was all or nothing.

So these feelings, these _distractions_ , were confusing.  When she giggled behind him, he felt his heart skip a beat, and he internally chastised himself for being so fickle.

Then the lunch bell rang, and he couldn’t resist finally turning around to look at her as he stood out of his chair.

Were her eyes always that blue?  He almost got lost in them, suddenly feeling a sense as though he knew them well and could gaze peacefully into them forever.

In a second, he realized she was staring at him intently, almost as though not really seeing him, and his breath caught in his throat.  Clearing his throat, he chuckled when it startled her, then uttered (somewhat hoarsely, but he hoped she didn’t notice), “Mari? Is everything all right?”

She responded, but he only heard it belatedly, nodding as though he understood while his brain caught up with her mouth.

 _Such a pretty mouth_.

Wait, what?

Then she was asking him a question- about lunch- having lunch together!  That was it.

“Yea, of course,” he replied automatically.  When she didn’t say anything for a moment, he continued, “Come on.  I know just the place.”

* * *

The two of them walked in silence until they reached an eatery a few blocks away, with a view of the park.  Sitting across from her, Adrien realized how rarely he was face to face with her on occasions like this. Every time they went to eat lunch, Alya and Nino were there, and they usually ended up sitting side by side, which wasn’t a bad thing, but suddenly Adrien was lamenting how many opportunities he missed to take in all of her features- from the full curve of her lips to the endless ocean blue of her eyes.

From her side of the table, Marinette became lost in an internal debate, whether she should really tell Adrien, now faced with the task, or if it was a mistake that would destroy their friendship.  So lost was she in her own head, that she didn’t realize for a while that Adrien was watching her intently. When she did, she let out a surprised, “Eep!”

For a second he was taken aback, but Marinette decided to push past her own awkwardness and salvage the moment as best she could.

“Sorry, I know I’m being weird.  There’s actually a reason I asked you here- well, not _here_ , I mean, you did pick this place, but _here_ in the sense that we’re _out_ eating _lunch_ and- oh my God, I’m rambling.”  She took a breath, choosing not to look at the face of the boy in front of her.

Adrien watched Marinette struggle to speak articulately, wondering what she could be so nervous about.  Even though she wasn’t stammering, she was rambling and getting flustered, face flushing in obvious embarrassment.  Adrien found himself smiling fondly at the girl.

 _Cute_.

_...No! Stop it._

Just before she looked back up at him, he schooled his features, waiting for her to get out whatever it was she was trying (and adorably failing) to say.

But he missed a few things when he was wrapped up in his musings.

Suddenly she was saying, “So, I guess what I’m _trying_ to say is, I think I like you?  I mean, I didn’t mean that like a question.  I’ve liked you for a while, and I was wondering if you might feel the same way?  If you would be interested in going on a date with me... as more than friends?”

_Shit shit shit shit shit._

It took all Adrien’s willpower not to gape at her.  He felt bulldozed; he felt like he had skipped from point A to point Z and had no idea how he got from one to the next.  When did this happen? And why didn’t it really feel like a bad thing?

Part of him felt like it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to say yes, but that part was at war with the rest of him, which reminded him very vehemently that he was already in love with someone, had been for years, and giving up on her now would make his loyalty worthless.

“I, uh, I really like you, too, Mari,” he said, regretful in more ways than one.  “The thing is, I just,” he looked down at his lap, hoping she wouldn’t be able to read the truth of his feelings in his eyes.  “I sort of have feelings for someone already, and I have for a long time. I don’t think I can give them up that easily.” Finally he decided to risk a repentant glance at his best friend.  She looked disappointed, even sad, but surprisingly composed. Marinette was such a deeply emotional person, he didn’t expect her to take it so visibly well. A small tear slid down her cheek as she exhaled, and Adrien’s heart twisted in his chest.

“Mari, I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be sorry about a thing, Adrien Agreste,” she retorted, cutting him off and reaching out to grab his hand.  “You’re my friend, and I love you no matter what. We’re going to be ok.” Her expression was strong, determined, and so much like his lady that Adrien nearly gasped.  He gripped her hand tighter.

“I really do love you, Mari.”

“I know,” she said, squeezing his hand back.  “I wouldn’t give that up for the world.”

Despite their best efforts, the walk back to school was somewhat tense and filled by awkward silences and even more awkward snippets of conversation.  Marinette wanted to reassure Adrien that everything was all right, but she didn’t want to give him the impression either that she was trying to change his mind, so she maintained some space between them.

Next to her, Adrien mulled the situation over in his mind, acutely aware that his friend was purposely keeping a slight distance from him, wondering if it was his fault that things were momentarily stilted.  So, he resolved to destroy any sense of discomfort between them, drawing closer to her and grabbing her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together.

“Is this ok?” he asked.  She smiled, happier but still clearly sad.  

“It’s perfect.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence, much more comfortable this time, and Marinette began to let go of his hand as they approached the front steps, but he pulled her back.  Startled she turned to look at him, and he raised her hand, kissing the back of it before releasing her. The look she gave him made him weak in the knees, and when she raised up on her tiptoes, grasping his cheek with one hand and kissing the other softly, affectionately, Adrien felt heat rush to his face.

He couldn’t explain it, but that simple, innocent kiss made him want to grasp both sides of her face and press their lips together, to kiss and taste her deeply, run his fingers through her blue-black hair, wrap a tight arm around her waist and pull her tightly against him, and never let go.

The sensations washed over him, rendering him mute and immobile.  He stayed rooted to the spot, unable to speak or move as she walked toward the building, turning back to him as she opened the front doors.

“You coming?” she asked, shaking him out of his stupor.

Heart pounding, he bounded up the steps, internally torn as to whether he had just made an incredible mistake.

* * *

The feeling stayed with Adrien the rest of the day, and he found himself even more distracted than he had been in the morning.  Marinette and Alya whispered behind him, and he wished that he could hear as well as he could in the suit so that he would be able to tell what they were talking about.  There were very few doubts in his mind that he was at least one of the subjects of their harried whispering, but he couldn’t be sure. It tore him up inside to think that he had hurt Marinette more than she let on, and he began to wonder if she would honestly tell him if she was more upset than she appeared to be.

After what happened at lunch, he couldn’t shake the burgeoning emotions he experienced for everything Marinette, which led him every time back to the question of whether or not he was betraying his lady- well, his loyalty to her.  God knew she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, and might never.

The more he thought about it, the more he became convicted that moving on from Ladybug was an inevitability.  If she never loved him, could he really go the rest of his life alone to honor feelings which were unrequited?  Forever was a long time- was he really cheating himself by choosing not to allow anyone to love him the way he wanted to be loved?  Was it really such a terrible thing to let go of an impossible dream to be happy with something attainable and equally amazing?

When the end of the day bell rang, Adrien shot up in his chair and whirled around, set on talking to Marinette and figuring out whether he could really love her one day- whether it was worth the risk to see if they could have something more than friendship.  But when he saw her, she was laughing somewhat humorlessly at something Alya said, wiping away a stray tear. In that moment, Adrien knew he couldn’t do anything that would cause her more pain. He didn’t want to confuse her or mess around with her feelings, so he turned back around and walked out of the room.

* * *

Marinette did the best she could to get through the rest of the day.  After lunch, she couldn’t help but feel so very _sad_ , though maybe not for the reason she expected.  Sure, Adrien’s rejection hurt, but more than anything, her pain came from the necessity of letting go of something that she had been hoping and holding out for, for so long.

It was time to move on, and though it was for the best, and though it was all going to be all right, it still hurt.  She and Alya talked some about it, then changed the subject to help Marinette keep from dwelling on negative feelings.  In her mind, though, she couldn’t stop thinking that this may turn out to be a good thing, even if it wasn’t easy. Adrien turned her down, and she had been plagued with surprisingly romantic thoughts about her superhero partner all day, torturing herself over how fickle she was being, but now things were simplified.  Perhaps she could move on from Adrien and finally give Chat Noir a chance. Perhaps they were meant to be all along, and she was too stubborn to let it happen.

Not anymore.

As they stood at the dismissal bell, Marinette laughed half-heartedly at some ridiculous joke Alya made, ready to finally let go and move on.  Taking a deep breath and wiping away a tear, she gathered her things and made her way out of the room.

Adrien was distracted through his fencing lesson, making mistake after mindless mistake until he was finally dismissed with an irritated wave by his instructor.  Coming to a rest on the bench of the locker room, he removed his gloves and mask, guzzling some water and staring dejectedly at the floor.

How appropriate was it, as the paragon of bad luck, that he would finally be ready to take a step toward moving on from Ladybug, and realize his feelings for another girl, only after he rejected her?

He didn’t know if things could ever be the same now, knowing what he knew.  Marinette seemed to be willing to put the incident in the past and stay friends, but could he continue to act as though nothing happened when, for him, everything changed?  He would never stop being her friend, but he wondered it it wasn’t going to be tense, at least on his end, now that he realized he was feeling things he couldn’t explain, that she _had_ been feeling those same things, but had moved on.

It was a sadistic type of torture.

Only through the mask of Chat Noir could things _truly_ be the same.

Wait-

 _Chat Noir_.

Marinette had no idea he was Chat Noir, and he already visited her sometimes, anyway, so perhaps the solution to his problem was much simpler than he thought.

He could visit her as Chat, find out just how deeply she was hurting, and plant the seeds in her head that maybe Adrien just needed time to figure out his feelings.

She would listen to Chat Noir.

He was like, her favorite superhero, she even told him.

Bound and determined to set things back on the right track, Adrien headed for the showers with a plan in mind.

* * *

Dusk found Marinette sitting on her balcony, taking in the Parisian skyline.  The air was chilly- it was Spring, after all- but with a blanket around her shoulders and a mug of hot tea in her hands, she breathed in the crispness as a healing salve.

Realizing she left her phone in her room, Marinette set down her cup and walked down through the trapdoor, barely making it to the floor of her bedroom before she heard a thump up above.

That _thump_ coincided with a _bumpbump_ in her chest as she realized just who was on her roof.  Taking a calming breath, Marinette grabbed her phone and headed back up the ladder, opening the hatch and finding a pair of deep green eyes staring back at her.

“Ch-Chat Noir,” she greeted, hoping he didn’t notice the brief stutter.

“Good evening, _purr_ -incess.”  There was that cat-like grin.  “How is my princess _feline_ this beautiful Parisian night?”

Marinette rolled her eyes at his dramatic behavior, subtly noticing his declaration of her as _his_ , but choosing to ignore it for the sake of her health.

“How are you, Chat?” she evaded.

Chat’s eyes narrowed shrewdly.

“The tip of your nose is red, and your eyes are a bit, too.  Princess, have you been crying?”

Grabbing her mug of tea, she headed back for the door to her room.  This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have where anyone could see.

“Princess, wait-”

“Come on, Chat,” she said, pulling the door upward and motioning for him to descend.  “Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

Chat nodded, then wordlessly entered her room, coming to rest cross-legged on her bed.  Long gone were the days of shy discomfort. He and his princess had become such close friends, that he was never afraid that either of them were invading the other’s personal space.

Marinette took a draw from her mug of tea, then set it down on her desk before making her way up to the bed and wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, crossing her legs like Chat’s.

“Ok, Chaton, what do you want to know?”

Chat paused, taking in her face, the slight droop of her eyes and mouth, wondering if he was taking advantage of his anonymity by asking her questions she would probably not feel comfortable answering if he were in his civilian form.

“Well, first... why were you crying?”

Marinette looked down at her lap, a slight sheen appearing in her eyes.  “I got rejected by a boy today,” she replied.

Chat’s heart rate increased, his face flushing.

“And are you- do you... really like him?”

She appeared to think for a second, half-smiling, but without any joy in it.

“Yea.  I loved him.”

Chat watched her, speechless, as she teared up slightly, then continued.

“I’m ok, it’s just- I had feelings for him for a really long time and, just letting go of all that hurts.  But he’s my friend, probably my best friend, and I couldn’t stand to lose him.” Marinette raised her gaze to meet Chat’s.  “It’s probably for the best, though.” Then she looked shyly down, fingers fidgeting in her lap. “I’m kind of confused because recently I’ve been experiencing feelings for someone else- like, romantic feelings?  I’m just really unsure about everything now, and I should probably figure that out.”

His heart clenched in his chest, and he struggled not to breathe too heavily.  The very thought of Marinette loving someone else, of even looking at someone else in that way, made his stomach twist, made his face hot, made his hands tighten into fists and his ears ring.

“You’re a pretty amazing person, princess.  This guy sounds like a real idiot for turning you down.  Maybe he’s confused, like you. Maybe he just needs time to realize how lucky he really is.”

Marinette gave him a smile, but shook her head.  “No, Chat, it’s ok. He doesn’t think of me that way, and now that I know it’s never going to happen, I can finally move on.  I think part of me will always love him, but he’s not the only person I could ever love. In fact, now that I know we’ll only ever be friends, I can stop feeling so confused about... this other guy.”

Chat’s ears drooped, realizing exactly how badly he had messed up.  His princess was moving on, and to someone else. His stomach turned over in dread and anxiety.  It physically pained him to imagine Marinette smiling that way at anyone else, touching their hair, holding them close, kissing them with all the depth of her feelings.  He couldn’t even find it in himself to ask who it was- didn’t think he wanted to know, lest he be able to picture her doing all those things with someone specific.

“Are you... are you going to tell him, this other guy?” he asked, practically choking on his own words as he forced them past the lump in his throat.

“I don’t know, maybe.  It’s- it’s complicated.  I’m not sure he really likes me.  I mean, I already know he kind of has a thing for this other person.”  Then she chuckled mournfully to herself. “I guess that’s kind of my thing.  Being nobody’s first choice.”

Chat looked at her.  Why would Marinette want to waste her time on some undeserving loser?  Who could possibly be better than her?

With some heat in his voice, he asked, “Who?  Who, Marinette? Who is this guy who doesn’t deserve you?  I have half a mind to Cataclysm his car or his face or something.”

Marinette’s gaze was directed at the ceiling as she let out a guffaw of bitter amusement.

“It doesn’t matter, Chat.  You can’t punish someone for not having feelings for you.”

“Like hell it doesn’t matter!” he practically yelled before he remembered they were in her bedroom and her parents were probably sleeping.  Lowering his voice, he continued in a frustrated whisper, “Marinette, you don’t deserve to be anyone’s second choice. You deserve so much more.  If this guy doesn’t want you, then he doesn’t really know you. No one who knows you could help but love you.”

The noirette’s head whipped to the side, searching the face of the boy beside her.

“You don’t know what you’re really saying, Chat.”

“Yes, princess, I do.”  She began to shake her head as he continued to speak.  “You’re amazing, and you’re beautiful, and there’s no one in their right mind who could possibly think otherwise.”

“And what about you?!” she finally burst, eyes blowing wide in surprise at her own exclamation, then quickly hiding them behind a veil of her hands as she let out a loud groan.  “Ooooh, my God, I didn’t mean that.”

Chat stared at her mutely, shocked speechless.

When he failed to respond, she chanced a peek at him, letting her hands fall as she looked at him with fresh tears in her eyes.

“ _Chat_ -” she broke off, voice cracking.  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to put that on you.”  He remained silent, still unable to respond, so she continued.  “It’s just- don’t you see? You love Ladybug, and I didn’t mean to use that against you.  I could never blame you for not having feelings for me the way I do for you-”

But her sentence was cut off as Chat’s lips suddenly crashed against her own, causing her to let out a surprised squeak.  Her eyes stayed open as she looked at the face pressed up against hers.

Chat’s head was titled, his eyes shut and relaxed, and she felt the massaging pressure of his lips working against hers, coaxing them to move against his own.  It only took a second for her brain to catch up with her body, and when it did, she threw her arms around his neck, lips parting when he slid his tongue along the seam in a silent request for more.

Before Marinette was even aware of what she was doing, she had scooted back on the bed, Chat following her without question, never taking his mouth away from hers.  The more intense their kiss became, the harder it was for her to keep herself from keening in pleasure. As she let out a low moan, she could feel Chat smile against her mouth, emitting a deep growl that sent a surge of heat straight south.

His hands roamed her sides, gripping her hips and tugging at them as she laid back on the bed, Chat’s body propped up by his hands and knees and hovering over her.  

“ _Marinette_ ,” the hero whispered, breath heaving and voice wrecked.  “Princess, if you’re uncomfortable, we can stop.”

“ _Chat_ -” her voice came out as a needy whine, not the in-charge tone she had attempted to use.  “I want this.” Her raised her hips, teasingly undulating against the clear bulge in his suit.  His eyes shut as he let out a shuddering breath. She did it again. “I want _you_.”  A high pitched sound came from the back of his throat, and he opened his eyes to look at her, gaze lidded.

“You want me to _what_ , princess?”

Marinette didn’t even hesitate, gaze unwavering.

“ _I want you to fuck me_.”

Chat coughed out a gasp.

“Jesus, princess.  You certainly know how to kill a man.”  She giggled at his breathless tone. “But... I don’t know if I should do that.”

Suddenly she frowned, and her eyes dropped as though embarrassed for even asking, for feeling rejected again.

“I- I’m sorry, Chat,” she apologized, still not looking him in the eyes.  “I- I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“No, princess,” he corrected her, lifting her chin with one hand to force her to look at him.  “You deserve to be _worshipped_.  If you really would deign to accept this lowly knight, then I will do my best to make love to you in every way a goddess like you deserves.”  He leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “So-” Another. “What do you want..." And another. "...princess?"

A fire kindled in her eyes.

“Make love to me, Chat.”

Chat smiled seductively, leaning down to kiss her again.

“As my princess commands.”

* * *

 **Day 38** :

Marinette woke slowly, confused as to why there was a large, warm, heavy object beside her.  Her eyes shot open, memories from the day- and the night- before rushing back to her. She kept them directed at the ceiling, though, as she could feel heat radiating off of _bare skin_ , which meant Chat had _fallen asleep_ and was lying next to her _detransformed_.

Ay, mon dieu.

Carefully, she tried to sit up, bringing her hands up to shield her vision for good measure.  Beside her, she felt movement.

A hand reached out to wrap around her waist- her uncovered waist, because by the gods and all that was holy, of _course_ she was naked.

 _Fuuuuuuuuuuck_.

Eyes still covered, she reached with her free hand to try to delicately detach herself from Chat’s hold, but he tightened his grip.  She resisted the urge to groan, afraid of waking him, and pulled some of the sheet up to cover her torso, hoping there were some discarded clothes nearby.  Chat stirred again, mumbling sleepily to himself.

Embarrassing situation aside, it was kind of cute.

“‘S cold,” he muttered, obviously still unaware of the situation.  To Marinette’s dismay, he yanked on the covers, ripping them away from her body, and causing her to shriek.

She felt the bed jostle beside her and the still faceless boy sat up suddenly.

“ _Holy shit.  Princess._ ”

“It’s, uh... it’s okay, Chat, I’m not looking.  You can transform and be... on... your way.”

“ _Plagg!_ ” he whispered furiously.  “ _Where are you?_ ”  There was a heated exchange, which Marinette ignored as best she could until she heard Chat address her.  “Marinette, uh, do you have any cheese?”

“Camembert!” came a nasal voice, and Marinette almost did a double take.

“ _Hush!  You’ll eat whatever you’re given._ ”  There was some more muttering, but the arguing did not resume.

“I’ll uh... I can check, but... I have to get dressed first.”

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry!  I won’t look,” Chat was quick to assure her.  “You can open your eyes now.”

Marinette cautiously, slowly lowered her hand, but in front of her, Chat’s face was covered by a pillow.  She tried to not let her eyes linger on the sculpted planes of his chest and stomach.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, climbing down from the bed and throwing on her clothes at an inhuman speed.

When she returned from the kitchen, she closed her eyes, climbing carefully up the trapdoor with some Gouda and Brie in hand.

“You’re a lifesaver, princess,” came a voice close in front of her, then she felt someone’s bare hands taking the selections.  There was the sound of munching as she turned her back to him to face the wall, opening her eyes gradually to make sure it was safe.

But she forgot about the mirror.  In it’s reflection, blue eyes met green as she realized just who was standing behind her.

“ _Adrien_ ,” she breathed, reality ringing too true by the look of panic on his face.

“Marinette, I can explain-”

“Oh my God, Adrien,” she practically cried, throwing her hands back over her face as though she could unsee him.  “Adrien why did you- why are you- _why_?”

“I’m so sorry, Mari,” he said, voice coming closer.  “I didn’t plan this. It was so stupid- not that being with you was stupid, or _is_ stupid- I just- Goddammit, I don’t know what I’m saying-”

Marinette’s brain finally caught up with everything, and her anger wasn’t far behind.  Emboldened by her fury, she whirled on him, no longer hiding pointlessly behind the veil of her fingers, poking him in the chest in outrage.

“ _What the actual hell, Adrien?_ ” she whisper-shouted.  “ _I wasn’t good enough for Adrien to date yesterday, so how is Chat Noir any different?  What is this, just wanted a quick fuck and then I’d never have to know who you really were?_ ”

“Oh, Jesus, no, Mari, please,” he begged in a low voice.  “It’s not that at all, I just- I knew I hurt you, and even though you didn’t make a big deal about it, it was eating at me-”

“ _I’m not sure sure what’s worse_ ,” she cut him off, “ _being used or receiving pity sex_.”

“That’s really not it, Mari, please just let me explain.”

Marinette ceased her verbal assault, glaring at him out of angry eyes, standing with her arms crossed over her chest and she waited for his next words.

“I’ve always kind of liked you, it’s not that I don’t, I just- I couldn’t give you my whole heart, Marinette, not when I love Ladybug as much as I do.  And then I was here with you last night, and I started to think, maybe I could see myself moving on, with you, but I knew Adrien already ruined his chance.  I couldn’t bear the thought that you would slip through my fingers, too, so I didn’t think, I just followed my heart. Please, don’t push me away.”

Marinette’s expression was less angry, but her hurt had increased tenfold.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Adrien.  I want to forgive you, but I don’t know if I can right now.  Maybe you don’t mean it that way, but it feels like I’m just a second choice, someone you’d settle for because you can’t have the real thing.”  She sniffed, looking down at her feet. “But I’m angry at me, too, because the truth is... I’m a hypocrite.” She whispered the final words, and if the room weren’t so silent, Adrien might have missed them, but he didn’t.

“What are you talking about?”  If he were a real cat, his hackles would be raised, his ears would be flat and his tail ramrod straight.

Marinette sniffed again, tears running unchecked down her cheeks as she continued to stare at the floor.

“What I’m saying, Chaton... is that I’m in no position to judge you... because I’ve done the same thing.”  He could hear the conviction in her voice, even hear her gulp, but her final words set a ringing in his ears.  “I’ve been rejecting you for years- because of you _._ ”

Things were clicking into place, but he was one step short of an epiphany, held back by denial.

“Marinette, you’ve never rejected me as Adrien or Chat because I’ve never told you I lov-”  The sentence trailed there, a cold feeling descending on Adrien’s body. After a pause, he disbelievingly asked, “ _Ladybug_?”

She looked up, skin splotchy and tear-stained.

“Hi, Chaton.”

It was like the wind was knocked out of him.  He always told himself he would recognize his lady if he ever saw her out of the suit, but he had been overlooking her for _years_.  And then he rejected her.  She had been rejecting him for years, too, but it still made him sick to think of what he had put his lady through.

He wanted to be angry, but he couldn’t.  He couldn’t believe his _luck_ , something that never happened to him- to find out that the girl he loved and the only other girl he knew he could love were the same.  But he had gone and screwed it up. She would never want him now, he was sure.

“Marinette, I know this whole situation is so complicated, it’s almost like some sort of cruel joke of fate, but I’d like to try to move past it all, together.  If you’ll let me, I’ll try to make it up to you, even if it takes the rest of my life.”

Hand coming to cover her mouth, her eyes shut in what appeared to be pain.  When she opened them again, he almost wished she had left them closed. All he could see inside their endless pools of blue were sadness and regret.

“I don’t know if I can, Adrien.  I’m still too angry. Right now I need space.”

Adrien nodded mournfully.   _Of course_.  He knew his luck was too good to be true- it had to turn horribly wrong.

“Alright, Marinette,” he conceded, backing away.  “I promise not to bring it up again.” Then he bowed, forcibly holding his hand against his chest to prevent himself from reaching out to place a kiss on her own.  Transforming, he made his way up the ladder to her balcony door and saluted before he disappeared through its open hatch.

* * *

As soon as Chat Noir was gone through the roof, Marinette sank to her bed and began to sob, only reigning in her emotions because she didn’t want to disturb her parents.

When she lay on the pillow, Cha- _Adrien’s_ scent overwhelmed her, the unique smell of his skin, hair, and cologne lingering after he slept on it for the entire night.  Time to leave for school came closer, and her mother began to call upstairs to let Marinette know she was going to be late. Marinette didn’t want her mother asking questions, so she dressed and left the house as thought she were going to school.  But instead of crossing the street, she slunk around to the alley and transformed, then took off over the rooftops until she reached a secluded building and dropped her transformation.

Tikki hovered in front of her, noticeably anxious, but unsure of what to say.  Marinette didn’t really want to talk anyway. The little kwami settled for nestling into her hair and patting her comfortingly.  Marinette took deep, calming breaths, trying not to dwell on the confusion and frustration that kept stubbornly welling up within her, but she was fighting a losing battle.  Hoping to distract herself, she transformed again and began swinging across the rooftops.  But the wind in her hair, the sight of every place she had been with either Chat Noir or Adrien, kept her mind on an endless reel of memories, and the anger she had been working so hard to quell flared up within in her until she was practically gasping for air.  She landed in an alley with a quaking thump, and detransformed again.

Tikki flitted frantically in front of her.

“Marinette!  You have to calm down!”

The girl’s breathing came out in quick, shallow pants.

“Tikki, I’m sorry!  I’m trying, I just- how could he do this to me?  He’s my _partner_ , Tikki!”  Her eyes closed in grief as she rested her hands on her knees, hunching over and trying to catch her breath.

Suddenly she heard, “Marinette look out!”  But as her eyes popped open, she felt a surge of _something_ powerful and intensely negative overtake her.  Instead of the alleyway, she saw a deep haze of purple, and a voice rang in her head.

“What have we here?” the calm, deep voice asked.  “A bug caught in my net. How _lucky_ of me.  It seems your partner has wronged you, Miss Fortune, and now I can give you the power to take his bad luck and turn it against him.  But, in return, you must bring me both of your miraculouses.”

Deep inside, Marinette felt the lack of control as her negative emotions were drawn from her as poison from a wound, amplified until they overwhelmed everything else.  She wanted to say no, she wanted to fight, but even though in her head she was saying no, the voice that came out of her mouth answered, “You have a deal, Hawkmoth.” The power crashed over her as she felt her body transform, her vision overcome by purple so intense it shrouded all else from view.  

When she could see again, the world looked different, almost filtered, slightly off-hue as when the colors on a television are unbalanced.  There was suddenly a hand in her vision, which she distantly recognized as her own, nails long, manicured and red, and a fan appeared in their grasp, the blades silver and reflective.  Seeing herself in them caused her inner, trapped self to gasp, but her attention was quickly drawn to the other hand appearing in her view, which Miss Fortune was using to pull a blade out from the fan, revealing an incredibly sharp point at the end.

Marinette tried to scream, tried to tell this version of her to let her go, but the overwhelming anger was drowning her, muffling every thought she had.

The fan’s blade glinted in the light of the sun, and in its reflection, Marinette could see Miss Fortune smirk.

“ _Here, kitty kitty_.”

* * *

When the akuma alert sounded, it gave Adrien a sense of dread and disappointment- a first for him.  He had never _not_ wanted to transform before, but he hadn’t seen Marinette since that morning, and knowing exactly who he would be meeting to defeat this akuma, he wished momentarily that he could skip it altogether.

Part of him was ashamed to face her, and the other- the other didn’t think he could stand the pain of looking at her and knowing how deeply he hurt her.

Memories from the night before haunted him.  She was so beautiful in the moonlight, so soft and inviting.  When he appeared at her trapdoor, she let him in without hesitation, clearly upset about how Adrien rejected her, but also taking it much better than he thought she would.

When she confessed that it was probably for the best because she was struggling with feelings for someone else, he got an odd, twisted feeling in his gut.  The thought of Marinette loving someone else did not sit well with him.

When she let it slip that _he_ , _Chat Noir_ , was the other object of her admiration, he nearly floated out of the room.  In retrospect, he probably should have. Instead, he leaned in and kissed her, and she only paused for a second before responding with fervor.

The curves of her body, the way her eyes and hair shined in the nocturnal glow, made him weak in the knees just thinking of them.  But they also made him hate himself for not having more control, for not being honest with her before he let things go too far. He couldn’t even see the fact she was Ladybug and had rejected him multiple times as a bad thing.  In his mind, his lady had feelings for him, for _both sides_ of him, and that was as good as it got.  Who she loved first was just semantics because she loved _all_ of him.

If only he hadn’t been so stupid not to realize sooner how he felt the same, that of course he had feelings for Marinette, that it wasn’t wrong, because they were _the same person_.  If he had known that, he wouldn’t have spent however many years he had pushing down budding feelings for the blue-haired beauty who was always at the back of his mind.

Then she didn’t come to school, and he couldn’t blame her.  He desperately wanted to visit her to make sure she was ok, but was determined to give her the space she asked for.  Making up some inane excuse, he headed to find a place to transform so he could find the akuma and get the battle over with.

When he arrived at the Champs-Elysees, however, he was unprepared for the sight in front of him.

It was Ladybug, but it wasn’t Ladybug.

She wore a gorgeous qipao, knee length with a high thigh slit.  It was just like her favorite shirt- a light, greyish-white color with pink blossoms, and it hugged her body like a second skin.  Her hair wasn’t in pigtails anymore, but collected fetchingly into a low bun, two chopsticks crossing through it, On her face, which was fairer than usual, she wore blood-red lips and thick, black winged eyeliner framed her haunting bluebell eyes.  If the sight weren’t so horrifying, it would have been the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen.

The entire avenue was chaos.  People had abandoned cars in the middle of the roadway, pedestrians were fleeing in a panic, and horns honked and beeped all around them.   She stared back at him, reaching at her bun for what appeared to be a simple fan, but Chat knew had to be much more dangerous. He stayed well back, watching as she slowly drew the fan to her face, extending it to its full width, all the while watching him without even blinking.

“Hello again, Minou.”  And she slowly picked out a blade from the fan, examining the likely razor sharp tip before looking back at him.

“ _Princess_ ,” he rasped.

“I’m not your princess anymore, Chaton,” she practically spat.  “I’m Miss Fortune, and you and everyone else will know how it feels to see everything you want taken from you.  You’re a black cat, Chaton, and as the reader of fortune, I say your bad luck has come for you!” The blade came flying at Chat with impressive speed, and he barely had time to duck out of the way, the sharp metal still managing to cut his cheek as it zinged past him, arcing back and returning to Miss Fortune’s grasp like a boomerang.

Chat nearly broke down on the spot.  His lady was compromised, and he didn’t know if he had it in him to fight her.

This wasn’t going to end well.

* * *

Miss Fortune was the most powerful akuma Chat had ever encountered.  She knew his every move, his every nuance, his every weakness, and she exploited them.  It hurt him on a level, because his lady was trying to kill him, but he was very aware, that she _wasn’t_ his lady.  In fact, there were flashes of panic on her face that appeared for mere fractions of a second any time he caught her off guard.  They were dancing a dangerous tango, and Chat was entirely cognizant of the fact that he was losing, badly. For every one hit he got on her, she dealt him ten.  Their battle traveled across nearly every major area of Paris as he attempted to find an advantageous location. But she was the city’s hero, and she knew every place as well as him.

He tried to keep them out of the public eye after a while, leading her to abandoned buildings he knew about, but he and his lady often sparred in these places- there was nothing unfamiliar about them for her.  Finally Chat decided to take her to the most open place possible, and the best one he could think of that would be the clearest was the Trocadero. The entire city was virtually in hiding, except for daredevils and reporters hoping to catch the action.

Chat was beyond exhausted, and Miss Fortune showed no sign of slowing down.  For a moment he thought he had her, pinned on the ground with her fan out of reach, but he took too long to identify her akumatized object and was too taxed by the long battle to hold her for long.  She kicked him off her chest, knocking him onto his back on the hard ground, air forced out of his lungs from the impact.

As he struggled to get up, she reached down and lifted him up with a single hand under his jaw.  The black-clad hero struggled to breath, the toes of his boots barely scraping the ground as she raised him even higher.

“Would you die for her, _Minou_?” the akuma asked, voice hard and full of contempt.

“ _My lady_ ,” he gasped, “ _I’m so sorry... It’s ok... You can let go... I love you_.”  Suddenly her eyes went round, and the sneer of hatred disappeared as if it was never there.  A look of panic overtook her features again, even as she continued to hold him off the ground.

“She’s too strong, Chaton, please, _save me_.”  And she looked meaningfully at his right hand, her request clear.  Within a few seconds, though, Marinette was lost again underneath Miss Fortune, whose demeanor regarded him with disdain before smirking and pulling a blade of the fan out from her hair, where it was nestled in her bun.

Leaning forward, she kissed his lips sensually, then pulled back.

“Night night, Chaton,” she breathed against his lips, and, leaning back, dropped her arm swiftly down, blade in hand.  It plunged into his chest, and Chat’s eyes rolled back in his head, mouth open in a silent cry, feet kicking instinctively.

It was too much for Marinette, who emerged to the forefront again, finding the strength to lower him enough for him to plant his feet flat on the ground.  He didn’t have enough energy to remain standing, however, and nearly knocked her over with the weight of his body as he practically leaned against her side.  The person in front of him looked into his eyes, face contorted in agony.

“ _No, my Chaton!  Please, save me_ ,” she cried, tears flowing without end.  Through blurred vision, he could see Marinette disappearing again within Miss Fortune, and he couldn’t bear to leave her alone with what Hawkmoth had forced her to do.  He couldn’t let her go on to suffer defeat, to live to see her enemy take both their miraculouses, and turn the world to ash. Before he could stop himself, he lifted his right hand to the side of her face, resting against her cheek and covering an ear.

In a wheeze, he managed to gasp, “ _Cata-clysm_.”

Just before she disintegrated into dust, Chat found comfort in the look of peace that came over her face.  With no one holding him up, he collapsed to the ground, and knew no more.

**Author's Note:**

> So, did you enjoy having those blanks filled in? Are there specific timelines that you didn't get to see in their entirety, and want to?
> 
> Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions- I love reading comments! :)))


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